AvNeil - A Special Bond of Destiny

Chapter 12

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It was quarter past two when Neil reached the 'Excel Designs' graphics store. As soon as he entered, the lady at the desk asked him, "Hello Sir. How may I help you today?" with a courteous smile. He smiled slightly and said, "I have a few images on my phone. I would like to know if you could convert it into an actual invite, exactly the way it has been depicted in these images." "Certainly Sir. We design all types of invites here. Could you send the images to me over phone or via email? The store email id is: 'wedesign@exceldesigns.com' and the contact number is '1790765523'. They are up on the board behind you in case you need to refer them.", she replied politely. "That sounds great!" he beamed happily. "What size would you like these invites to be? Also, how many invites do you need Sir?" she asked. He saw an empty envelope lying on the table. He picked it up saying, "As long as the invite fits in this envelope, that's good enough for me. I would require 2 invites. Wait...actually make that 4.", just in case of an emergency I need a backup, he thought to himself. "Sure Sir. I shall have them ready by Monday morning" replied the lady and prepared a receipt for him. He paid the advance amount. "You can pay the full amount when you pick up these on Monday. Thank You Sir." she said smiling. "Thank You. I shall be here on Monday.", he replied. As he walked out of the store, he made his way towards a restaurant to grab some food quickly. As he munched on his food, he smirked to himself thinking, 'My darling Juhi. We are going to be meeting very soon. Watch out for me Vidyut. Your happy times are soon going to be history!'

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It was almost evening by the time Neil returned home after wrapping up his work. He saw Avni glued to her phone, looking intently into her phone screen. She had been going through some ballroom dance videos to understand what it is and become more familiar. She didn't want to make an absolute fool of herself, not in front of Neil at-least – her ego definitely couldn't afford that. Her cheeks had turned a deep red and her mouth was agape on realizing the amount of proximity that the dance demanded. How could she possibly dance with him like that? The handsome cheeky devil would be home any minute. Thinking about the repercussions of this close dance, gave her goosebumps all over. She obviously couldn't trust herself around him. "I am not going to look at him. I am going to try and avoid his gaze as much as I can" she repeated to herself. "Come on Avni, you can do this! It's just a dance" she tried convincing herself, but she was still unsure if she was fully convinced and wondered if she could actually execute it in his vicinity. She was lost in thought. It was only when she heard his voice all of a sudden, that she snapped out of her thoughts. "What are you watching so intently?" he asked, unzipping his jacket and tossing it on the chair beside him, walking closer to where she was seated. "N..n..nothing. It doesn't concern you!" she replied stuttering. "Its practice time.. We need to have you all geared up for the D-day, so as to ensure we don't end up making a fool of ourselves at the party!" he said smirking at her. Neil plugged his cellphone to the charger and opened an app to play the music. Instantly some soft romantic music was audible from the speaker. Her heart started to beat fast now and her legs were slightly wobbly. He walked closer to her and stretched out his hand towards her. She slowly placed her hand inside his. On coming in contact with his hands, her hand went numb as she was nervous. He held her hand and softly pulled her towards him. '5 second rule..DO NOT look at her for more than 5 seconds.' his mind instructed him repetitively. 'Do not look at him. Listen to his instructions, but DO NOT make eye-contact with him.', she constantly reminded herself. As she stood opposite him, he said, "Since you are already aware of what ballroom dancing is, I must remind you that it would require me to...", while his right hand encircled her, gradually rested on her waist. She was dressed in a long baby pink skirt with a black crop top, which covered her waist slightly. She was anticipating his move as she was well aware what to expect having already watched those videos. As soon as he rested his hand on her waist, she drew in a sharp breath, muttering a "Hmmm" in response, as if approving his hold. She nervously raised her hand slowly and placed it his shoulder, still trying very hard to not look directly at him, but focusing her gaze sideways. He gently clasped her other hand and slowly their fingers interlaced with each other's. Their hands were intertwined and he slowly began swaying her to the music. "Avni, follow my lead. Take two steps forward with me and then two steps backward" he said softly. "Hmmm" she responded, looking everywhere else but him, and began swaying to the music. 'Thank God she's not looking into my eyes. It's very easy to get lost in her.' he thought to himself. As they took two steps forward, Avni in her desperate attempts to avoid his gaze ended up stomping on his feet and he yelped in pain. "Ouchhh...!! what are you doing?", he shouted at her massaging his foot slightly. "I am taking two steps forward, just as you instructed" she replied in a low voice. "You crazy woman! If you don't follow my lead and keep day-dreaming looking at some random direction, you'll end up ensuring I have a fracture. Please pay heed to my lead" he yelled at her. She pouted with a sad expression writ on her face, seeing his anger and muttered "Errmm I'm sorry Neil. I'm very new to this". Seeing her cute sad puppy dog pout, his insides melted - how his hands urged him to stroke her soft cheeks and comfort her. He fought back his urge and said "OK fine. Just follow my lead." She garnered all the courage and looked into his eyes. That dangerously-handsome face had the ability to make her forget everything, but she had to do it. When their eyes locked, Neil's five second rule was long forgotten. Those large almond-shaped innocent eyes spoke volumes to him which churned his insides. Her gaze was powerful enough to make him forget his surroundings and kill his last ounce of sanity. They swayed forward and backward to the music their eyes not leaving each other even for a second. As she continued to follow his lead, he suddenly swung her around and pulled her closer rapidly. As she hadn't been anticipating his sudden move, she turned swiftly, lost her balance and landed on his chest. Her face banged lightly against his chest. The minute her face came in contact with his chest, his body became stiff. The top two buttons of his shirt were already split open. Her warm breath on his chest made him close his eyes instantaneously as he continued to breathe deeply. His grip on her waist tightened as did hers on his shoulder. The proximity got both their hearts racing quickly- but neither was ready to leave the other. Their bodies were plastered to each other-It was as though they were clinging onto each other for their life. Their tiny intimate moment of passion was broken suddenly by a loud ring of their doorbell. Avni opened her eyes slowly, realizing the position she was in, immediately straightened up herself and pulled away from him. She hurried away from him and walked to open the door. It was the landlady Mrs. Chopra. "My husband and I will be away for a few days on vacation. We just wanted to inform you that we won't be available over the next few days, and just in case any emergency arises, you should be prepared for it." she said. Avni smiled and replied "Don't you worry Mrs. Chopra. I am prepared for everything" wondering how anything could possibly go wrong with him being around her. Or maybe everything could go wrong - her mind muddled in confusion and her cheeks turned a deep red. Seeing her face suddenly change color, Mrs. Chopra asked with a concerned tone, "Are you alright Avni? I hope you are feeling better now. You look a bit flustered". "N...n..nothing of the sort Mrs. Chopra. I am a..a..absolutely finee.", replied Avni stuttering. Even a fleeting thought about him rendered her nervous and made her a blushing mess - living with this man was becoming increasingly difficult for her and she had no clue why. Mrs. Chopra smiled and said "Take care my dear" and walked away after Avni said, "Thank You. I hope you have a lovely time with your husband.". She walked slowly towards her room and saw Neil removing his phone from the charger. "I heard whatever she had to say. I think we have had enough practice for today. I am tired and would like to relax for a bit. Let's continue tomorrow." he said without meeting her eyes and started walking away. She too didn't dare to look up at his face and just muttered an "Okay" as he walked away. Both had no clue why maintaining their composure around each other was becoming a Herculean task as time passed.

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Update after a long time😄. Hope you enjoy it my dear readers😃. Did you miss me?😉 Thoughts about the story?🤔 Do let me know.🤗